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A new European Directive will provide greater protection for users of electrical equipment across a wide range of consumer and professional products, including power supply units and components such as fuses.

The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2014/35/EU came into force on 20 April 2016, replacing Directive 2006/95/EC. It provides detailed and in-depth guidance around the placing of electrical equipment within certain voltage boundaries.

Rittal have developed a Guide (`The New Low Voltage Directive`) to the Standard outlining the new features and requirements. This Guide provides information and a brief understanding of 2014/35/EC. It looks at what is new in the directive, what it means for panel builders and switchgear manufacturers, and what they can do to comply Including:

• Ensure technical documentation is in the language the destination country of the product• Fulfil the requirements of the applicable product standard• Prepare a risk analysis • Remedy potential risks and provide a safety data sheet

The use and application of European Standards EN 61439 or EN 60204 will make the risk analyses far easier to prepare simply because, by implementing the technical measures of these standards along with the measures taken by testing them, risks are automatically reduced.

Rittal can offer further guidance around the LVD as required. For example, `The Introduction to the Application of IEC 61439` seminar is just one of a suite of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars designed to provide support to industry professionals.

Each seminar has been reviewed and assessed by the Chartered Institute of Building Engineers (CIBSE), to ensure the technical content is of a high standard.